G.N.P. Growth Slowed a Bit in 4th Quarter as Inflation Picked Up

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18—Revised figures for the gross national product showed slightly less “real” growth in the fourth quarter of last year and slightly more inflation, the Commerce Department disclosed today.

The dollar figure for the G.N.P. was essentially unchanged—a rate of $1,0729‐billion in the fourth quarter and 61,046.8‐billion for the year 1971 as a whole.

The revised figures showed only two important changes from the earlier estimates and they were offsetting—a drop of about 62.5‐billion in net exports of goods and services and a rise of the same amount in business fixed investment.

The revised figures showed that “real” G.N.P., which adjusts for higher prices, grew at an annual rate of 5.8 per cent in the fourth quarter, little less than the 6.1 per cent estimated earlier.

The G.N.P. accounts contain several different measures of inflation, all of which showed a sharp drop In the fourth quarter, reflecting the wageprice freeze.

The over‐all G.N.P. “deflator” showed an inflation rate of 1.7 per cent for the fourth quarter, the lowest for a quarter since 1965, but a bit higher than the 1.5 per cent level in the preliminary report for the fourth quarter.

For 1971 as a whole, this measure put inflation at 4.6 per cent, down from 5.5 per cent in 1970 but little changed from the 4.8 per cent figure of 1969.

An index watched closely by economists, called the “private G.N.P. chain price index,” also showed an inflation rate of 1.7 per cent in the fourth quarter. For the year as a whole, inflation by this measure was 4.8 per cent, little changed from the rates of 1969 and 1970.

The revised figures showed that Americans saved 8.2 per cent of their disposable, or after‐tax, income last year, the highest savings rate since the unusual conditions of 1946 just after World War IL This compared with 6 per cent in 1969 and 7.9 per cent in 1970.

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A version of this archives appears in print on February 19, 1972, on Page 41 of the New York edition with the headline: G.N.P. Growth Slowed a Bit in 4th Quarter as Inflation Picked Up. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe